Good Boy!
by jackson33pjo
Summary: Nico finds a dog in a graveyard with no collar. Thinking of Mrs. O'Leary, he takes the dog with him as he shadow travels around the world, having adventures that only a son of Hades can have. Everyone, meet Mr. Total O'Leary…
1. Chapter 1

Life was so boring without Percy, Nico reflected. When his cousin wasn't around, getting into the nearest mess, he didn't have much to look forward to. He could go to the Underworld and be feared by the dead and criticized by his dad, or he could go to camp and be excluded. People were afraid of death- even the demigods at Camp Half-Blood. Though helping so influentially in the War had helped them be near him, the campers still instinctively shied away from his aura of death. It should be better after the war against Gaia. Assuming I survive.

He knew he should probably be preparing for the war. But he didn't want to be at Camp Half-Blood, or be near Hazel at Camp Jupiter. Sure, she was nice, but after Bianca's death? He didn't need another sister, especially a half-sister. It bothered him slightly that he had a half-sister, because neither of them were supposed to be alive. They were both born during World War II, and were targeted by Zeus in an effort to keep the prophecy from happening.

But, more than that, he was angry at Bianca for leaving him again. First, she had joined the Hunters and gotten herself killed on a quest, and still avoided him even while she was dead. Then she abandoned him again to be reborn.

It was the same old story with everybody. They grew tired or scared of him and left. He was beginning to wonder if he was just unlikable. His own mother had tried and died under Zeus' bolts.

As he wandered through the Parisian graveyard he had absentmindedly shadow-traveled to, he noticed a small black Scottie-ish dog taking a nap on a headstone. It looked sad and lonely, and had no collar. He wondered if the dog had been abandoned, and if it would even like him. Mrs. O'Leary did, but she was a hellhound. All the rules changed when the dog is the size of a rhino with sharp claws and teeth, an appetite for flesh (or giant pink rubber yaks), and is a creature of the Underworld. Not that he was necessarily considering adopting a/that dog, but he got lonely too. Misery loves company, after all.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when a bunch of wolf-looking things-probably monsters- came after the dog with claws outstretched. The Scottie dog yelped once and started to run. Nico ran after them, taking off his ring and pulling his Stygian iron sword out of the air.

The wolf things were not prepared to face an armed foe. They had prepared themselves to take out an innocent victim- the little dog that was probably a baby hellhound.

He slashed through three at once, their bodies crumpling to dust. The blade sucked their essence out, making their bodies wither, but they weren't monsters. They were something else. Something volatile and dangerous. Not dangerous to him, but to the mortals.

The remaining two growled, lifting their hackles and launching themselves at him. A furious dance began and lasted for about a minute, Nico's sword singing the deadly song of battle (and victory) as it sailed through the air.

The dog walked up to him uncertainly and licked him. There was intelligence in its beady black eyes. It looked like a boy. Nico smiled and patted its head. At least someone that wasn't dead liked him.

"Hi, boy," he said softly. "I'm going to call you Mr. O'Leary."

The dog barked as if he liked the name.

"Alright then," Nico smiled. "Let's go, boy."

The dog obediently trotted after him as he got up and walked out of the graveyard. Little did Nico know he was about to get into a genetic mess….

**Ever wonder what Nico's doing before he meets Percy at camp? Well, now you know. Making friends with man's best (flying, talking) friend.**

**So, I have no idea exactly when the Doors of Death open, but once they do, Bianca is reborn and Nico takes Hazel to camp. This is about a week or so after that. Wonder how the flock will react… *evil smile***

**Um, as for Maximum Ride, this is after Angel. **

**Next chapter is Total POV (what a nightmare that will be), so you'll learn why he's there and get inside his head. First time I've ever switched up the POV's, so bear with me please.**

**Currently juggling three multi-chapter stories, with a lot more to write for all of them, plus a lot of one-shots and other multi-chapter stories I plan on writing. I'll try to update each one once a month, because I like getting one thing done a week. It keeps me working, but right now I really want to write.**

**You are lucky readers! Three updates this week! (Yes, one was late, but still.) I was thinking about leaving this one for next week, but… nah. Probably being too nice to you. Return the favor by reviewing!**


	2. What the Hell?

Total POV

What was I doing in a graveyard in Paris, you ask?

Alright, I was looking for Angel. Don't tell anyone or anything, but I miss her. I have a reputation to keep as a mutant, you understand. I'm such a marshmellow, but it's true. She took care of me when none of the flock wanted anything to do with me. She stood up to Max to keep me, and that's no easy feat. She's my first and best friend. Without her, I'd probably be dead in the School's lab right now, never having been part of the flock. Never having met Akila or having felt the wind in my fur or having eaten anything but dog food …. And I never would have known what life could have been and what I could have done. Because of Angel, I have helped make an impact on the world, and taught humans what their pollution is doing to our planet.

I knew it wouldn't help to search there, but there was something oddly comforting about not seeing her name on a headstone. After Ari and everyone who had died in the Artic and Dr. Gunther Haagen and my friends at the School, I didn't want to see anyone else dead. Especially not Angel. I'm astonished Max let me go off on my own. I mean, I didn't think she cared all that much, and would abandon me if I left her. She's probably distracted by Angel's… disappearance. She couldn't leave me anyways. Not now. Talking dog is nearly impossible to abandon. Not that she wouldn't try. Or would she? I mean, after all we've been through…

I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed the boy come into the graveyard. I was too depressed to strike up conversation, and it was nice to have a human there. Just for companionship. Avoiding the whole mutant-freak-talking-dog aspect of the day is nice, sometimes. I can't get away from it very often, because my wings are hard to hide in my fur for extended periods of time, but the escape is fantastic. Freedom like flying, but different. Almost normal, in whatever bizarre way I could be considered "the usual" dog.

I guess when he started talking to me, I still wanted to maintain the normalcy of the moment. A stray in a graveyard isn't something to be questioned. Why I followed him is. I have no idea. He sort of reminded me of Fang in his looks, and any member of the Flock with his eyes. I could see sadness in them. Regret. His eyes made him look much older than he was. He was probably thirteenish, but his eyes held the experience of an old man. What immediately attracted me to him was the loneliness in his eyes. He obviously knew what it was like to not be wanted. Anyone that's been abandoned wouldn't turn down the companionship of a dog.

I was too depressed over the supposed loss of Angel and the looming threat of going back to the Flock only to find concrete evidence of her death to go back to our hotel room. I could stay away from the impending battle between Fang's Gang and what was left of the Flock. So, against my normally impeccable judgment, I followed him. He gave me a name. Mr. O'Leary. I wasn't thrilled with it, but it was almost like a middle name. Something I'd never had before. Something normal.

Mr. Total O'Leary Ride. I liked the sound of it. I mean, I couldn't replace Ride. It was the name I had given Akila at our wedding, and the assumed last name of the members of the Flock.

Walking out of the graveyard at his side like a pet, I noticed two figures in lab coats walking our way with a white van trailing behind them, trying not to look conspicuous. Each one was fingering something in their outer pocket.

Whitecoats.

I immediately stopped and started growling. It was too much of a coincidence to be anything but trouble. They had caught me at the wrong time. After Angel's disappearance, I wasn't going to take anything from anybody. Especially not School freaks.

The boy turned around and looked at me. "What's wrong, boy?" he said, looking concerned.

And then all hell broke loose as the whitecoats pulled out guns and began to fire.

Oh, shit.

**I might be confusing you people. I'm going with first person for Total, and kind of a sarcastic mood that he would have, and the depressed-slightly-emo third person with Nico. Why? Because it fits them, and if I ever forget to include who's POV you're reading, you'll be able to tell. Plus, Total's chapters have more interesting titles.**

**Not that many of you read this, anyway. All the attention's on Traitor. Right…. I'm writing this more for my enjoyment and as more credit for what I've written. There's something satisfying about seeing my profile and that I have eight stories for three different books. There was a point when I wasn't going to do crossovers, besides the fact that that's all I read on fanfiction. Yes, I'm a hypocrite. Anything else you want to say? No? GOOD.**

**Total has a mouth on him, doesn't he? What an foul-mouthed little mutant marshmellow.**

**Oooh, another cliffy. Not as bad as the first one, though. That one's kind of "Here's what's gonna happen later on!" This is just that they're being fired at by guns. Normal goes out the window yet again…**


	3. Chapter 3

People in lab coats coming at him, guns blazing, with only a normal non-hellhound dog by his side?

Yeah, it was going to be one of _those_ days, Nico reflected bitterly.

He didn't know whether to pull his sword or bring out the undead army. Well, one man can be an army, especially if it's Percy. Or an undead Achilles, who would be more easily accessible to Nico. Wielding a sword would raise awkward questions- if they could see through the Mist and if they actually remembered anything after he dispatched them. Assuming he didn't kill them. Raising the dead would take energy, and they would probably be able to see through the Mist for that.

He ran back into the graveyard, Mr. O'Leary at his heels. The dog was barking madly. It clearly didn't like the thought of running away. Then again, neither did Nico. But he didn't want to reveal his abilities to these mortals. There was no faint shimmer around them, no flicker of Mist that hid them from the eyes of prying mortals. Were they mercenaries, under Gaia's payroll? Or did some giant or monster control them? Was his dad trying to get him to prove his mettle again? Or was a different god mad at him? If so, for what? What had he done this time? Maybe it was Thanatos, angry at "the impudent son of Hades" for bringing someone back from the dead. Or Persephone, who basically hated Nico for existing, as she didn't like it when her husband had affairs with mortal women. Which was hypocritical, as they had no children together and rarely even acted like they cared about each other, anyway. Were they actually monsters? Had he somehow lost his ability to see through the Mist and distinguish monsters from mortals?

Nico shook his head, trying not to overthink the situation. There was a problem at hand- something (probably mortals) were chasing him with guns. He had to get rid of the guns first, think about why later. He kept running, dodging headstones, bullets, and flowers, keeping his hand on his ring, ready to twist the skull and bring out his deadly Stygian iron friend.* The dog was somehow keeping pace with him, which was weird, as Mr. O'Leary had stubby legs. A sudden thought sprung to his mind. **

Could they possibly be after the dog?

He looked like a stray, but how should Nico know? Maybe Mr. O'Leary was some government dog, a bomb detection officer or something. Maybe he belonged to a terrorist. The wolf-monsters had gone after him, after all. But that was probably for a snack. Mr. O'Leary was such a small dog (in comparison to Mrs. O'Leary and Cerberus, of course).

But then why would they be coming after him with guns? What could a dog to mortals- besides bite them and scratch them and tackle them? Especially one this small. Why would a dog warrant any weapons, much less guns?

Was it only coincidence that official-looking sciencey-type people would be armed and approaching after he met a dog?

Nico knew only one thing for sure. He had to act, and he had to act fast. Or he would die because of mere mortals.

He sure as Hades wasn't about to let that happen. Not after losing so many good campers during the Second Titan War and having Percy and Hazel to protect.

Percy would know what to do, if he was here. If only. He'd come up with some crazy plan right on the spot. The plan would probably involve a skeleton appearing to stab the dog with a trident made of water, with ketchup from Nico's Happy Meals smeared around its jaw. Or maybe jumping behind a headstone and screaming Greek "voodoo sounding" curses that would scare the mortals away, after an undead hand broke out of the ground. If Nico tried it alone, it would end in disaster and result in certain death. But because it was Percy's plan, it would work (somehow), and they would be able to steal a boat or take hippocampi back to Camp Half-Blood.

Before he could make up his mind, the van came screeching through the graveyard, knocking down the wrought-iron fence and several headstones.

They were cornered.

Three more scientists burst out of the van. One of them tackled Nico and held him down while another pressed a cloth over his face. He was flat on his back, in a pretty good position to kick the second scientist's head, when the aforementioned vulnerable man put his knees on Nico's legs. He tried to struggle, but the gas was too potent. The fumes made his eyes roll back into his head, and he heard the third shouting for help because he was being bit somewhere unmentionable. Nico vainly hoped Mr. O'Leary could get away from these mad mortals. Was he being kidnapped? Or was he going to wake up in some dark alley, bruised and bloodied?

The last thing Nico remembered was the full moon, shining over him. Artemis, saving the day as usual, he thought, sinking into unconsciousness.

**Why yes, I know this is short. And it is pretty crappy, thank you for noticing. I'm also writing the next chapter- for the same update. That one will be more important and longer… because I forgot about Total seeing the sword. Oops. There's something to be said about updating rapidly, and even more to be said about not updating at a reasonable pace.**

**No, he doesn't think of shadow-travel first. *facepalm* But, he'll get to that soon. He should have, when thinking of how to get back to camp…**

***I HAVE NO IDEA HOW HE BRINGS OUT THE SWORD. JUST GO WITH IT, OKAY?**

**** No matter how many times I try to rewrite this sentence, it looks like Minotaur dung and sounds worse than the All-Time Greatest Hits of Dean Martin (virtual cookies for whoever reviews what this is a reference too).**

**I've had this mostly done for a while, just've had no time to stick it online. Sorry…**

**Also, I'm working on the next Traitor chap for those of you that watch that. Should be out this week.**

**PEACE, LOVE, AND FANFICTION!**

**-jackson**


	4. Aw, Crap!

Total POV

We were screwed.

Oh so screwed.

He had been amazing against the Erasers, gutting them with a knife. It had been so fast and so deadly, I hadn't even been able to see what kind of a blade it was. And I was a mutant dog with raptor vision, for crying out loud!

But whitecoats with guns were a different beast entirely. (Yes, avian-American mutant mutts can have a sense of humor! It comes with hanging around Gazzy, Iggy, and Fang. Max snarls too much to be funny. Nudge prefers spending her time with fashion. And Angel's gotten kinda creepy, though she) No problem for the Flock, of course. Especially with that new kid from Fang's Gang. Holton, was it? Eh, I don't remember. Too many new faces for me to recognize all at once. But I'm a dog. A talking mutant dog with wings, but still. That's beside the point. I'm not even a foot tall, I have four stubby legs, I can't run very fast, and my bark is sadly worse than my bite. I can't do much damage; how am I supposed to fight these humans off?

I couldn't fly away. I didn't want the boy to see me- it was nice to feel like a normal dog around a normal human- and I didn't want to leave him. He actually cared about me!

I bit the whitecoat that came after me where the sun don't shine. Ugh. That tasted _terrible_! I resolved to never do it again, as the whitecoat started screaming for backup, on the ground in the fetal position. I was hacking, making cat-with-a-hairball noises as I tried to get the awful taste out of my mouth. My resolve was almost immediately broken when the two other whitecoats stood up. One picked up the boy and tossed him in the van, the other ran for me. I ran to him, barking madly, aiming for the vulnerable target just in my reach. I jumped, trying to get the most force into my bite. The man jumped over me, and my teeth caught flesh.

"AAAAAUGGHHHH!" the whitecoat screamed, hitting me over the head repeatedly with his gun. I refused to let go, my jaws glued together with determination (and his blood). "GET HIM OFF ME!"

The third scientist came to his aide, trying to pry my jaws open. When that didn't work (Avian Americans are stronger than the average dog/human/bird, after all), he sprayed something into my noise. At once, I began to feel dizzy and tired.

_Shit! It can't end like this! _I thought. _Must… get… away… The Flock… Akila… That human boy… Need me._

But it was too late for that. As I slid into unconsciousness, I felt my jaws being pried from the poor whitecoat's ass. I fell onto the ground, and then kicked into the van. I hit the door, and was out for the count before I fell on top of the boy, who was lying on the floor of the van.

**I haven't read MR (or PJO, actually) in forever. Anything I've missed/screwed up on…. Review. I always read my reviews. And yeah, I know I haven't been updating frequently. Been very busy lately. This is a double update, so…. Trying to be nice. Kinda short again, but I like having both of their POV's. Was gonna have a scene in the van, but… Scientists are probably smart and know how much chloroform to administer to get their targets back to the lab without them waking up.**

**Oh, Total, you're the reason this has to be rated T. Swearing? Biting men down there? Such a bad doggie.**

**Very violent chapter. Not what I'm used to writing at all. Hope you either enjoyed it or weren't too sickened by Total's underhanded tactics. I for one was. The swearing also got on my nerves. Is it canon for him to swear so much? If not, I'll probably go back and edit…**

**No, he did not bite the second guy down there. He actually bit him in the butt. Not what you thought, was it? **

**Whatever happened to the whitecoats chasing them? I HAVE NO IDEA. They might be dead. Or they might have given up.**

**The last sentence also sounds kind of stupid. How would he know where Nico was? Or that he had fallen on top of him? I'm gonna chalk it down to either writer's laziness or writer's freedom.**

**Till next time,**

**-jackson**


	5. Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER:

I don't own Maximum Ride, Percy Jackson (or Heroes of Olympus, for that matter), or any characters/locations/plot elements contained in these two (or three, depending on how you look at it) fabulous stories. I'm a fanfiction writer, after all. This means I borrow/steal characters from widely acclaimed authors to use for my own purposes. My name is not Rick (Riordan), nor is it James (Patterson). Therefore, not mine! I wish, but… I wouldn't have thought of either of these ideas. The only thing I even pretend to own is the plotline contained in this story. Not that I know what that is.

….I always seem to forget about these things- until chapter 5, oddly enough. No one's yelled at me yet, so…

Next chapter? I'm working on it. Few days at the most, it'll be up. That means you can relax, Purple Winged Ninja. Geez.


	6. Chapter 5

Ow, my head, Nico thought hazily as he woke. What happened? Are those… _cookies_ I smell? Am I at Percy's? But how would he have found me? I was in Paris…. Did I shadow travel back?

He tried to lift his head, but it felt very heavy. He tried again, and realized his head was restrained. He tried to move his arms and legs, but they too were strapped down. He still had his ring. Maybe it had been a good thing to not use the sword on the mortals, after all. If he had used it, he wouldn't have it at this point. Then again, if he had used it, he probably wouldn't be in this situation. Nico surveyed the room in a panic, searching for answers and any potential weapons.

The room was plain and light grey. There was a random mirror on one wall- probably one-way, if someone was going to go to all the trouble of abducting him- and there were scores of dog crates stacked along the left wall. A shiny steel door was located on the wall in front of him, close to the right corner of the room. The atmosphere was oppressive and bleak, and the scent of cookies didn't help. Just made it seem creepy. Nico was tied to a hospital bed in the middle of the room. There was no one visible around. Everything was clean- scarily clean, the kind of clean you only see in hospitals and…

Laboratories.

Oh, for the love of Zeus.

Nico had been kidnapped by mad scientists.

Did they know? What he was? Had they taken a sample of his blood, discovered that he was born during the 40's? That would raise some awkward questions. Had DNA testing even existed back then? Or was this just a routine kidnapping, using kids as experiments? Children went missing all the time, after all. And he was technically a homeless kid off the streets. What were the crates for? And what had happened to Mr. O'Leary?

"Mr. O'Leary?" he called softly. There was a low whining coming from by his bed. Nico craned his neck and saw the little black dog sitting in a tiny crate, with no room to move. He felt infuriated. That was no way to treat an animal! But if they captured random kids and restrained them to do horrible experiments on them….

At that moment, an elderly scientist entered the room. Huh, Nico though. I must not be that interesting while I'm awake. At least he had the decency to leave the door partially open… Maybe this'll be easier than I thought! As the scientist opened his mouth to speak, Nico twisted his ring with his index finger. The sword flashed into existence, and he swiftly sliced through his bonds. He unlocked Mr. O'Leary's crate and kicked the door the rest of the way open. Nico barreled down the hallway, accidentally knocking over a short old lady carrying a tray. Chocolate chip cookies flew everywhere. One hit the pursuing scientist in the face, knocking him out. Nico picked himself up off the floor and continued running, as more scientists burst out of doors.

The hallway suddenly ended, and he saw a door marked "Janitor's Closet." He frantically turned the knob, and found a barely lit little room filled with cleaning supplies. Perfect, Nico thought. He He held out his arms for Mr. O'Leary, and closed the door behind them. When the whitecoats opened the door a moment later, Nico and Total were nowhere to be found.

**Ok, maybe I hurried on this a little bit…. But I really don't care what the whitecoats have to say. No experimenting on demigods here!**

**No, Nico doesn't have to worry about DNA testing- at least, not from the 40's. I'm not exactly sure if he has to worry about them finding out that he's from New York- wouldn't he have had to have some kind of identification because he went to Westover Hall? Or did Hades use the Mist? I'm just going with Mist for now, it seems to be more logical. Though were logic comes into play in a story involving bird kids and mythology, I have no idea…**

**Also, random scientists. But, wait! Would the School even still exist? I haven't read either the Maximum Ride books or the Percy Jackson books in forever, I'm mostly going off of what I remember.**

**The last sentence was kind of a 3****rd**** person POV. Eh.**

**Thank you for reading! Review!**


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